Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Samuel Ernest Dainty enlisted on the 4th of October 1915. After the 32nd battalion 3rd reinforcement was made part of the 8th brigade he was placed in the 32nd Battalion 3rd Reinforcement. The 8th brigade contained two battalions from SA and two from WA. The battalion sailed from Adelaide on the 17th of February 1916 on the HMAT Miltiades A28. The HMAT Miltiades A28 was built in 1903 by Stephen Linthouse for G Thompson & Co Ltd, London. It then weighed 6793 gross tons and was around 2330.16 square metres, 138.7 x 16.8 metres. Designed with clipper bow, dual sail/steam capacity. In 1913 the HMAT Miltiades A28 was lengthened it ended up being 153.7 metres long and weighed 7814 gross tons. HMAT Miltiades A28 was responsible for a lot of the troop movement along the west and south coast of Australia. From the 1st of November 1914 the HMAT Miltiades A28 met with the first convoy at King George’s Sound. Then from the 1st of February onwards it transported medics from Adelaide, Melbourne, Fremantle and Sydney.

The 8th brigade joined the 5th Australian Division in Egypt they then proceeded to France on track for the western front in June 1916. The first major battle the 32nd battalion fought in was at Fromelles on 19th of July 1916 having arrived at the front line trenches 3 days prior. During the battle the 32nd battalion lost 718 men almost 75% of its total force and over 90% of its fighting force. The battalion then stayed out of any major offensive for the rest of the year. In 1917 the only major battle fought by the 32nd battalion 3rd reinforcement was Polygon Wood fought in Belgium on the 26th September. In 1918 the 32nd Battalion didn’t fight many battles as the 5th division was in reserve. The last major battle that the 32nd battalion fought in was between the 29th of September and the 1st of October. They attacked with two American divisions and the 3rd division to take the Hindenburg Line across the 6km long St Quentin Canal.

During the Battle of Fromelles which contained both the 5th and 61st division. Like many battles in 1916 it was meant to be a double cross which ended up failing and costing more than 7500 British and Australian troops. The 8th brigade acted as a flanker and this did not work out well, the 32nd battalion alone lost 718 men. The aim of the battle was to deceive the German Commanders into keeping their reserves in place instead of sending them in aid of the units in the south taking on the allied forces. The battle of Fromelles was a seriously ugly battle, the ground was muddy and waterlogged, in full view of the German Troops. In the ‘No Man’s Land’ area of the battlefield it was up to 400m wide.  The planning undertaken by the British and Australian leaders was severely rushed and the German defense was underestimated. The attack took place seven hours after the Allied troops arrived removing any hope of surprise. The German Machine-Gunners tore through the allied forces and the only units able to capture trenches were the 8th brigade and 14th brigade of the Australian Armed Forces. They were eventually forced to withdraw after receiving no support and receiving fierce counter attacks by the Germans. After the battle was complete the damage was revealed the 5th division had lost over 5500 lives and the British had lost over 1500 lives. The battle was a complete failure the feint not pulling of and the Germans only losing around 1000 men.

Samuel Ernest Dainty was born in Naracoorte, South Australia on a farm. He then moved to Mt Barker as an adult and became a famer his only experience from his own farming life as a child. When the enlistment in South Australia started Samuel Ernest Dainty wasted no time in enlisting. Samuel Ernest Dainty was 23 years and 9 months old when he enlisted he was 5 foot 6 weighed 150 pounds translating to 167cm and 68kg. He had blue eyes, auburn hair and quite a fresh complexion. Samuel Ernest Dainty had a vaccination scar on his right arm.

Samuel Ernest Dainty didn’t have it easy on the battlefield, travelling between battles or even after the war was over. On the 7th of August 1916 he was admitted to a field hospital after severely injuring his eye he was then dispatched on the 10th. After this incident Samuel Ernest Dainty then rejoined the 48th battalion part of the 4th division on the 7th on the 9th. After joining the 48th battalion he took part in the 1st battle of Bullecourt a follow up battle after the Germans retreated to the Hindenburg Line.